Fluid tight joint and method of making



Sept. 1, 1931. w. G. WILSON 1,821,865

FLUID TIGHT JOINT AND METHOD OF MAKING Filed Nov. 1. 192a I anoenbo'c Wylie G'JfZlson l a tented gept. i, 193i UNITED S TES i m-m o FrcE WYLIE G. men, 01' ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY Application filed was... 1,;1929. Serial No. 403,978.

This invention relates to a fluid tight joint 1 cause of the difficulty of making a leak-tight joint and the difliculty of rotating the pipe in making the joint; also joints made with simple threaded sleeves have a rough interior- Gaskets of more or less'p'lastic material are apt to be blown out by high pressure; they deteriorate with age and heat; and in many cases great force must be used in clamping together the parts with which the gasket'ls associated. Accurately ground abutting surfaces are expensive to manufacture and are not suitable in many cases. Other types of joints have been proposed, but the types above referred to are the ones that are most 0 extensively used.

tion is to provide a joint structure and/or method of making a joint which will withstand high ressure and can be manufactured at low cost by ordinary commercial methods. Another object of the invention is to provide a joint structure and/or method (if making a joint whichwill withstand high fluid pressure without requiring greater manufacturing precision or greater care in assembling 10 than is involved in ordinary commercial work. v

Another object of the invention is to provide a joint structure and/or method of making a joint in pipes or the like, which maintains the interior of the pipe smooth and of a size at the joint equal to the normal size of the I pipe and free from cracks or crevices.

Other objects of the invention will be obvious from the following disclosure. In accordance with the above and other Simple threaded sleeves are not customarily used for large sizes of pipe be-- mg surfaces' of the ring. 1 1g. 1 ma fragmentary cross sectional view The general object of the present inven-' objects of the invention, various difliculties of the prior art are overcome by a construction in which two pieces'of pipe or the like are sealed together by acontinuous one-piece sealing ring having oppositely inclined annular sealing surfaces, one of which cooperates with each 'of the pipe ends. The pipe ends are provided with annular corners which are adapted .to exert pressure on the sealing surfaces of the and to slide over such sealing surfaces ,as the ends of the pipe are drawn together. In this way, the annular corners on the ends of the pipe are lapped into sealing fit with the sealing surfaces of the ring and the ring is circumferentially .contracted as a whole, thereby setting up a heavy permanent sealing pressure between the annular corners on the taken longitudinally of the pipe, the lefthand portion of the figure showing the parts assembled preparatory to making the joint and the right-hand portion of the figure showing the completed joint.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig.1 showing a modified form of the invention.

Reference will now be had to Fig. 1. Sections of pipe 1 and 2 that are to be joined are provided with ends or fittings having annular flanges 4 and 5 adapted to be drawn together by bolts 6, as is well understood in the art. The end of each pipe is recessed as shown'in the drawing in a manner which is equivalent to two concentric counterbores, one smaller than the other and deeper than the other. This forms annular corners 7 and 8 which are more or less square, the corners being spaced a short distance from the end surfaces 9 and 10 on the flanges. The pipe 'ends are assembled with the recesses in alignment and a sealing ring 11 positioned in the recesses as shown in Fig. 1. The ring 11 is a continuous solid ring of metal, preferably similar to the metal of the pipe, and having inclined annular sealing surfaces 14 and 15, one of which contacts with each of the shoulders 7 and 8. As shown in the left-hand portion of Fig. 1, the normal internal diameter of the sealing ring 11 is preferably pipe and the sealsomewhat larger than the internal diameter flanges so reenforce the ends of the pipe that of the pipe.- The inetal of the ring is preferably resilient and preferably is malleable or Worked metal or ductile metal. The ring 5 is so proportioned that upon being constricted with suflicient force, it contracts circumferentially as a unit.

After the parts have been assembled as shown in the left-hand portion of Fig. 1, the flanges 4 and 5 are drawn together by bolts 6. This causes the corners 7 and 8 to exert pressure on the faces 14 and 15, which pressure increases in value (due to the increasing resistance of the ring) as the flanges are drawn together." Accordingly, the corners 7 and 8 slide over the surfaces 14 and 15 while exerting considerable ressure on those surfaces. This sliding 0 surfaces under pressure causes local action on the metal of the sliding surfaces which is in effect a local cold working that somewhat densifies the surface metal; it also so removes machining irregularities as to produce sealing fit capable of withstanding high pressure. For convenience, this local action by which the sealing fit is produced will be referred to as lapping action. The circumferential pressure on the ring also so constricts the ring that the entire ring is contracted as a unit 0 and thus permanent sealing pressure is established on the walls 9 and 10, due to the resiliency of the metal of the sealing ring.

When I say the ring is contracted as a unit,

I mean that the ring is contracted through- 5 out its entire length. In fact, in actual practice with a ring having the proportions shown in the drawings the geometrical configuration of the rings cross section (taken as in the drawings) is maintained, but the entire circumference of the ring is reduced. With such a ring the geometrical change of the ring in actual practice is similar in kind (not necessarily de ree) to the geometrical change caused by a ecrease in temperature of the ring. a

In the finished joint of Fig. 1, the flanges 4 and 5 are in contact as shown in the righthand portion of the figure, and the sealing ring 11 has preferably been so' contracted that its interior surface is flush with the interior surface of'the ipe. The ring is held in this condition by t e constricting pressure applied by the corners 7 and 8 near the apex 0 stresses cannot impair the seal. Also, the

the rings cross section. Conversely, the resiliency of the ring causes it to be urged. outwardly against the corners and since the their size remains fixed as the ring is constricted.

The construction shown in Fig. 2 is similar to that shown in Fig. 1 except that each pipe end is recessed in a manner which is equivalent to a single counter-bore, thus leaving each pipe end with an annular corner which is more or less square and is located at the very end of the pipe. Also, the depth of the recesses 20 and 21 in the pipe ends is so related to the length of the sealing ring 22 that the bottoms of the recesses will engage the ends of the sealing ring before the surfaces of the flanges 23 and 24 are brought together. Theparts are initially assembled as shown in the left portion of Fig. 2. Then as the ends of the pipe are drawn together by any suitable means such as bolts 25, the tapered sealing surfaces 26 and 27 of the sealing ring are lapped into sealing contact with the annular corners 28 and 29 on the pipe ends, and the sealing ring is circumferentially contracted as in Fig. 1. Due to the smaller depth of the recesses in the pipe ends, the bottoms of the recesses 20 and 21 are drawn into contact with the ends of the sealing ring 22, leaving a small space 27 between the ends of the pipe. In the completed joint the ring 22 is preferably so contracted that its internal diameter is flush with the interior of the pipe, so that there is no change in the size of the conduit (and no crevices) at the joint. The construction of Fig. 2 allows for manufacturing variations in that it permits the bottoms of the recesses 20 and 21 to be always drawn against the ends of the sealing ring 22 regardless of manufacturing variations in dimensions. A certain degree of seal is produced by this contact between the bottoms of the recesses 20 and 21 and the ends of ring 22. The wedging action which is exerted on the sealing ring as the joint is drawn up is one which has great mechanical advantage, and hence large sealing pressures may be exerted with relatively small forces applied by the bolts 6, or other means used to' draw the pipe ends together. The amount of the mechanical advantage obtained depends, of course, upon the angleof the sloping surfaces. If a small angle he used, (i. c. measured from the axis of the pipe) :1 large mechanical advantage is obtained, but the sealing ring must have a relatively long length and the ends of the pipe must be Lattice The desirability of a short sealing ring will be obvious from the following considerations. As a practical proposition there is a inam'mum permissible pull which can be exerted by the bolts which draw the flanges together. This maximum permissible pull can contract a ring of not over certain cross-sectional area. Accordingly, the shorter the sealing ring is made, the'thicker it may be made; and the thicker the ring, the higher pipe. line pressure it will withstand. Also, the shorter the ring, ly its ends willremainparallel to each other during contraction of the ring,'and hence the more perfectly of the ring. The length of the ring 1s such as to take care of manufacturing variations in the size of the ring and in the size of the pipe,i. e.,- to insure that the end of the pipe will start over the ring and that it will en-.

' counter a suflicient length of tapered surface I. sealin rin are not i on the ring to give adequate contraction. of

the ring and adequate lapping action between the ring and the pi end.

As the parts are assem led preparatory to drawing up the joint, the sealing ring is floating and acts to automatically align the pipe ends with each other and withthe sealmg r fectively lapped into a sealing fit that ordinary commercial machining methods are sufliciently accurate in making the parts, and

the joint does not require great care in manufacture or in assembling. In fact, in actual practice a fluid tightseal is obtained by the --time a fraction of the lapping movement has been completed. 7 i

2 The exact dimensions and material of the important so long as they are such as to rmit the ring,t0 act as above described. l ii general, the material of the ring must have compressive strength and elasticity and is preferably a ductile or malleable or worked metal similar to, or somewhat softer than, the pipes to be joined. Thus, a steel ring is preferably used for steel pipe and a brass ring for brass pipe. The material of the ring and its cross sectional proportions (i. e. axial length to cross axial thickness) are such that the ring contracts as a unit when constricted, as has previously been pointed out, but the exact proportions and dimensions may be varied considerably. The ring may have a thickness slightly less than the thickness of the pipe and a length slightly greater than twice its thickness. As shown in the drawings, the ends of the pipe are preferably reenforced as by the flanges 4 and 5 or 23 and 24, so that thepipe ends remain a fixed size as the joint is drawn to,-

. gether and the sealing ring contracted. When fluid under pressure is placed in the pipe,

1ttends to expand the sealing ring outwardly,

thus adding to the sealing pressure between the more perfectthe flanges will grip the ends The contactingsurfaces are so e-' having surfaces Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A fluid tight joint structure comprising two elements to he joined, each element being formed to provide an outwardly projecting annular corner, a sealing ring of resilient material resistant to distortion, as a unit, and having inclined annular surfaces engaging said corners, and means to move the elements toward one another to lap said corners into sealing fit with the ring and to circumferentially. contract the ring as a unit to establish permanent sealing presureon said corners, the ring being of suitable length and thickness and having appropriate inclined surfaces so that the prescri contraction and lapped sealed joint is efiected in the assembly.

.2. A fluid tight joint structure comprising two elements to be joined, each element being formed to provide an outwardly projecting annular corner and the two recesses being 1n alignment, resilient worked metal sealing rin resistantto deformation as a unit and h'avmg approapriate' inclined annular surfaces engagmgsal elements relative to the seahng ring to form a lapped sealing fit withsaid inclined surfaces and to circumferentially contact the ring as a unit to establish permanent sealing pressure over the lapped areas, said elements which abut and determine the final position of the parts independently of the engagement of said elements with the sealin ring, the ring being of suitable length and thickness and having appropriate inclined surfaces so that the prescribed contraction and lapped seal joint is efiected in the assembly.

3. A fluid tight joint structure comprising two elements to be joined, each element being recessed to provide an outwardly projecting annular corner, a sealing ring of resilient material resistant to distortion as a unit, and having inclined annular surfaces engaging said corners, and meansto move the elements toward one another to lap said corners into sealing fit with the ring and to circumfercorners, and means to move the I annular corner and the two recesses beingin alignment, a resilient Worked metal sealing ring resistant to deformation as a unit, and having appropriate inclined annular surfaces engaging said corners, and means to move the elements relative to the sealing ring to form a. lapped sealing fit with said inclined surfaces and to circumferentially contract the ringas a unit to establish permanent sealing pressure over the lapped areas, said elements having surfaces which abut and determine the final position of the parts independently of the engagement of said elements with the sealing ring, the ring being of suitable length and thickness and having appropriate inclined surfaces so that the prescribed contraction and lapped seal joint is effected in the assembly.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

- 2o WYLIE G. WILSON. 

